


Right Here, Together

by Kanookie



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Cunnilingus, F/M, Fluff, Grinding, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Multiple Orgasms, Service Top Julian, Smut, Vaginal Sex, portia is only there for a second, romantic sex, slight angst, the only top Julian I'll ever write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-08-27 14:04:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16703848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kanookie/pseuds/Kanookie
Summary: As you help each other out of your clothes, you notice the expression on Julian's face. He looks.... anxious. His touch lingers on your bared skin, but there's a hesitancy to him; as if he's afraid something will happen if he presses too hard. He swoops in to press a kiss to your lips before you can voice your concern, the light fabric of a robe settling around your shoulders as he leads you further into the room. He pulls away when you reach the edge of the bath, stepping down into the water and casting an almost shy smile at you as he holds his hand out.“Come, my dear. Allow me to pamper you.”





	Right Here, Together

**Author's Note:**

> Let it be known that anytime my friends even hint at wanting to see a fic, I physically cannot stop myself from writing it

It feels odd to be partying now, with all that's happened in the last few days – last few hours especially. You'd managed to return to your body, stopping Lucio and his convoluted plan in the process and chasing the courtiers and the Devil out as well. Nadia insisted on the Masquerade continuing, despite the clear and heavy exhaustion she and the rest of you felt, so here you stand, leaning on the balustrade on the second floor of the ballroom, looking over the the fluidly moving figures of the party guests as they dance and mingle.

You're having a bit a trouble coming to terms with the idea that it's all finally over. After weeks of running around, scrambling to put out fires, you'd have thought you would welcome the chance to breathe a sigh of relief at the prospect of your work finally being done. And yet, you can't quite shake the feeling of unease that hangs over you, like you're just waiting for the other boot to drop.

Beside you, Julian is similarly silent and pensive. He'd been this way ever since you'd returned to your body in fact, a certain distance in his eyes even as he refuses to stray far from your side. Knowing him, he's unlikely to share what exactly is bothering him of his own accord, preferring to think himself in circles until he's halfway to a panic attack, but the stress always shows on his face. Even now, you can see the crease between his eyebrows, the tension in his shoulders and expression.

“Julian?” Your voice is a bit softer than you'd intended, but does the job of capturing his attention. He blinks, turning to look at you, a reassuring smile spreading across his features.

“Yes, darling?” Your eyes roam his face, taking him in more completely now that he's facing you. He looks as exhausted as you feel, the weariness clinging to him like a shroud. Understandable, considering what you'd both been through tonight, both physically and emotionally. Even now, you can feel the fatigue, heavy in your legs and mind – you would love to simply collapse into a bed and sleep for the next few days. And from the look of him, Julian would share that sentiment quite enthusiastically.

“How about we call it a night?” You suggest, reaching out to slip your hand into his. “I'm sure the party can continue without us.”

Relief washes over his face, his fingers threading between yours and squeezing as he nods. “Ah, you'll hear no arguments from me, my dear,” He lifts your entwined hands, pressing a kiss to the back of yours, then gestures at the stairs with his other. “Lead the way.”

It's surprisingly easy to find Portia in the dense crowd, her bright hair providing an easy identifier despite her being easily shorter than most people in the room. She turns when you call out to her, her face lighting up at the sight of you both, and hurries over to meet you.

“There you two are!” Her eyes are bright, a carefree easiness to her smile even with how busy she seems to be. “Milady sent me to find you. She's offered her baths again, if you'd like to get cleaned up. That whole fiasco was pretty exhausting, so you're free to take as much time as you'd like.” The last part is accompanied by a wink and a mischievous smile directed at her brother, who flushes immediately, the red of his cheeks visible even under his mask.

“Pasha, please!”

“Well?” She ignores Julian's protest completely, turning her gaze to you. “What do you say?”

You can already feel your muscles relaxing at the thought of sinking into the warm, fragrant water of Nadia's luxurious baths. Your answer comes out on a dreamy sigh. “Yes, that sounds perfect. Thanks, Portia.”

She leads you through the halls of the palace, the winding corridors confusing even though you've been more or less a resident for the last few weeks. The entire way, Julian's hand is warm in yours, the point of contact filling you with a warm, comforting feeling. Portia finally comes to a stop in front of a set of doors, opening them and turning to you with a smile.

“I've gotta get back to work now, but take as long as you like. No one should disturb you, even if you're loud,” She winks again, then scurries off, Julian's embarrassed outburst following her as she disappears around a corner.

The air inside is warm, steam rising off water in fragrant puffs. It looks much the same as when you'd been here before, though it's obviously been cleaned – the bottles tidied and refilled, the robes freshly washed and replaced, the floor clear of the water Julian had spilled over the edge in his eagerness to reach you when you'd offered to wash his hair. The flowers floating along the surface are the same (red lotus) petals scattered around and creating a soft, romantic scene.

As you help each other out of your clothes, you notice the expression on Julian's face. He looks.... anxious. His touch lingers on your bared skin, but there's a hesitancy to him; as if he's afraid something will happen if he presses too hard. He swoops in to press a kiss to your lips before you can voice your concern, the light fabric of a robe settling around your shoulders as he leads you further into the room. He pulls away when you reach the edge of the bath, stepping down into the water and casting an almost shy smile at you as he holds his hand out.

“Come, my dear. Allow me to pamper you.”

You can't help but raise an eyebrow at him, even as you take his outstretched hand and step into the bath with him. “Julian, you don't need to pay me back for last time, you know.”

He looks confused for a moment before understanding dawns across his face. “Ah, not to worry, darling. My motivation is entirely selfish.”

“Oh?”

“Yes,” Then, he pulls you close, an arm wrapping around your waist as he grins at you, soft and loving and warm. “If you'd permit me, I'd very much love to take care of you tonight.”

When he asks like that, when he looks like that, you doubt you could deny him anything. You're nodding before you make the conscious decision to agree, the answer coming quickly. “Of course, Julian.”

“Thank you,” His response is reverent, earnest. You get the feeling it means more to him than simply washing your hair or back. The words are whispered against your fingertips as he lifts them to his mouth, planting fluttering kisses to each one. He uses his hold on your waist to lead you to the seat at the side, sitting down and pulling you into his lap, your back to his chest.

Once you're settled he reaches for the array of soaps and shampoos, sniffing at bottles until he hums in satisfaction and shakes some out onto his palm. The aroma of the bath water covers the scent until he rubs it between his hands and presses them to your shoulders, the scent of vanilla reaching your nose.

“I admit,” Julian murmurs, massaging the soap into your skin, pulling a groan out of you as he works to loosen your tense muscles. “I may be playing with fire.”

“How so?” His hands slide down, shifting the gauzy fabric of the robe aside as they prod along your spine and sides.

“You're already the very definition of tantalizing. I'm not sure I could exercise much control if you actually _smell_ good enough to eat as well.” Despite his words, he continues to rub the fragrant soap into your skin, leaning forward to press his nose against your neck and breathe deeply. When he exhales, his breath hitches, forehead resting against your shoulder as his hands come to wrap around your waist. For a moment, the only sound is your combined breathing, synchronized in the calming way you taught him once, seemingly a lifetime ago, but in reality only a few days prior.

“Julian,” You shift in his lap, starting to turn to face him. His hold tightens for a moment before loosening enough to allow you to turn in his arms. Your hands cup either side of his face, lifting his gaze to meet yours – your heart breaks at the tortured, vulnerable look in his eyes. “Julian, what's _wrong_?”

At first he shakes his head, and you think he's not going to answer you, but then he sucks in a breath. “I'd thought – when I returned to my body, the second time, when we were exploring the Magician's realm, you hadn't reappeared yet. Pasha was there, and Malak, and some of the palace servants were there as well, but not you.”

You remember that – returning Julian to his body had been relatively simple, considering he still _had_ one. But with you, it had been a bit more complicated. It's not very easy to fabricate a fully functioning and permanent human body out of thin air, and he'd been reluctant to leave you. Only the promise that you'd be right behind him had convinced him to return ahead of you, but you had been a bit slower than either of you would have liked. “Julian...”

“It-it was the longest few minutes of my life,” He's speaking quickly, the words leaving his lips in an uncontrollable stream, as if he can't get them out fast enough. “I wanted to believe you'd be right behind me, like you said, but the more the seconds ticked by, the less control I had of my thoughts.”

“ _Julian_.”

“I started thinking of worst case scenarios, everything that could've gone wrong. I'd thought I'd lost you, I regretted leaving you to figure it out on your own. Not to say you weren't capable, mind, but I should have _been_ there, maybe I could have helped in some way, you shouldn't have had to face that alone–”

“ _Ilya_ ,” The shock on his face alone makes it worth it, the sound of his given name halting his panicked rambling as he stares at you with wide eyes. You press your hands more firmly to either side of his face, making certain he's meeting your gaze. “ _I'm right here_.”

Julian gawks at you in silence, his mouth opening and closing a few times while you stare right back, willing your words to get through to him. _I'm right here, we're together, we're safe._

Whatever he sees in your expression must break through the haze of guilt and self-doubt, because his expression changes – eyebrows pulling together and eyes screwing shut as he buries his face against your chest, a sound not unlike a broken sob wrestling its way out of his throat. He clutches at you tightly, desperately, shifting his head against you until his ear is pressed to your sternum, right over your heart.

You don't know how much time passes, with you sitting perched in his lap, running your fingers through his hair, allowing him to hold you until the fear and helplessness stops making his limbs shake, until the hitching in his breath subsides. When he finally calms, he stays in place for a few minutes, just listening to the sound of your heartbeat, making no move to release you. You see no reason to rush him, willing to let him take his comfort in whatever way you can provide.

Then, he sighs, breath rushing out over your breast. “Forgive me, my dear. I, ah, don't know what came over me.”

“Don't apologize,” You say, still combing through his hair with your fingers. “You should never be ashamed of needing comfort and reassurance. Especially not from me.”

He breathes out a short laugh, turning his head to skim his lips along your chest, pressing soft kisses to your skin. “You're far too good to me,” he trails his lips up, leaving little kisses in his wake, until he reaches yours, and takes them with his own in a tender caress as he whispers: “Thank you.”

Washing up is a fairly uneventful affair, then – or as uneventful as it could get, considering your position, naked and perched in your lover's lap as you bathe together; Julian insists on finishing what he'd started, kneading the vanilla-scented soap into your skin, so you return the favor, finding the sandalwood-scented soap you'd used the last time you were here, and working it into a lather between your hands before washing him as well. By the time you're both clean, you can't feel any tension in your body anymore and Julian's face suggests he is in a similar state, relaxed and free of worry as he smiles up at you in his lap.

Your favorite thing about kissing Julian is the way he always seems to melt into you – even now, when you press a sweet, lingering kiss to his mouth, your tongue swiping at the seam of his lips. They part readily, his eyes going half-lidded, desire flickering to life in them. You kiss him again, deeper this time, and he sighs, an arm wrapping around you to pull you closer while the other comes up to grip your thigh. The wet, clinging fabric of the robes on your bodies just barely act as separation as you shift closer, pressing yourself flush against him.

You remain like that for a few minutes, the sounds of your kisses and pleased moans drifting through the air. A warm feeling of contentment rushes through you, along with adoration and no small amount of lust, and you pour that emotion into the kiss, wanting to tell Julian without words exactly how you feel for him.

_I love you. I want you. I would do anything for you._

He gasps into your mouth, right before he groans and tightens his hold on you, the hand on your thigh moving to latch boldly onto your rear. You can feel his arousal between your legs, rapidly hardening as his kiss deepens, conveying everything you feel right back at you. When you – slowly, teasingly – roll your hips against his, he breaks away from your lips, panting like he's just run a mile.

“Please,” he says, voice low and husky, looking at you with an overwhelming amount of hunger. You're not sure how you look at the moment, but you _are_ certain it can't be much different from him. “Please, darling. I want you.”

“You have me, Julian,” You kiss along his jaw, nipping at the skin below his ear just to hear his breath stutter. He tilts his head almost automatically to give you more access, and you reward him by biting down on the spot between his neck and shoulder, relishing the sharp cry that's pulled from him.

“I-I.. _ah_ , I want... I want to show you, my love,” His breathy confession catches your attention. You pull back to look at him, and he flushes under your scrutiny, but continues. “I want to show you how beautiful, how precious you are to me. I want to.. to _ravish_ you. I want to shower you in pleasure and adoration until you feel every bit the treasure that you are.”

He means it, every word. You can tell by the way he looks at you, staring directly into your eyes with an intensity you've never seen before. You can feel heat gathering in your cheeks as he takes your hand in his, lifting it to his lips to kiss along your palm and wrist. “Can I? Will you let me?”

“Yes,” You breathe, hardly needing to think. “Yes, of course.”

The air is charged between you as you walk the halls back to your room, having decided it's probably not the best idea to canoodle too much in the Countess' private baths. Despite the relaxation and tranquility you'd achieved from the bath, your body feels coiled tight as a spring, ready to burst – something that isn't helped by the warmth of Julian's hand on your hip, and the heat of his gaze on the back of your neck. The trek to your room is short, but it feels like it takes hours with the anticipation coursing through you.

You hardly hear the ' _click_ ' of the door shutting behind Julian before you're whirled around and pinned against it, lips suddenly occupied by your eager lover. His hands seem to be everywhere at once – on the back of your neck, angling your head upwards to better receive his kiss, pushing aside the still wet fabric of the robe you hadn't bothered changing out of, gripping your thighs, pulling until your feet are off the floor and your legs are wrapped around his waist.

You can't help the gasp you let out as he lifts you up, supporting your weight effortlessly as you're pressed back against the door. He kisses you with an astounding fervor, as if he's thinks it's the last chance he'll ever get. You return that energy, fingers gripping at his hair and pressing your body against him, eliminating any and all remaining space between you. He hasn't lost any of his eagerness from the bath – you can feel his arousal wedged between your bodies, rigid and hot. Rolling your hips against him pulls a sharp intake of breath from him, and he finally breaks away from your lips, touching his forehead to yours as he pants into the space between you.

“Ohh, you'll make it difficult to hold back if you keep doing that, darling,” He whispers, opening his eyes to stare at you. The intensity in his gaze takes your breath away, but neither that nor his warning stops you from grinding against him again, biting your lip coyly. The groan it tears from him is nothing short of _delicious_ , especially when his hands grip you tighter, pulling you more firmly against him and grinding back. “ _A-ahh..._ ”

“What makes you think I _want_ you to hold back, Julian?” Your lips brush his as you speak, a barely-there touch. “I seem to remember something about ravishing me tonight?”

Your question is punctuated by another roll of your hips, and Julian shudders and laughs breathlessly.

“I'd forgotten I had a vixen on my hands. My mistake.”

Without warning or waiting for you to reply, he suddenly hefts you away from the door. You yelp in surprise, hastily wrapping your arms around his shoulders as he turns and carries you over to the bed. You're placed down gently on the soft and silky sheets, but instead of joining you, Julian kneels at the side of the bed between your spread legs, looking up at you with an expression that is equal parts adoring and teasing.

“I suppose I'll just have to give you what you want then.”

The muscles in your inner thigh jump as he leans down, planting firm kisses on the skin there. Every kiss lingers, as if he's doing more than just building the tension and anticipation – it feels reverent, worshipful. He leaves no area uncovered, his warm mouth and tongue tracing every inch of skin until trembling underneath his ministrations. You squirm and shift, trying to direct his mouth to where you want it, but he's stubborn; taking his time tasting your flesh, pressing his smile against your thigh when you let out a frustrated noise.

“What happened to giving me what I want?” You huff, tone just this side of petulant. Julian doesn't lift his head, instead turning just enough that you can see his eye, sparkling with mischief.

“So sorry, my dear,” The words are muffled as he murmurs them against your leg. “How very rude of me.”

Whatever response you have dies in your throat as he turns his head to the side and seals his mouth around you, tongue laving over your clit mercilessly. You cry out, hips jerking. He moans as he tastes you, hands gripping your legs and pulling them over his shoulders, pressing his mouth more firmly against you. There's no hesitation, no easing you into the sensations – he sets out to devour you, to make you fall apart. He'd said he wanted to shower you in pleasure, and here it is clear that he's eager to do so.

“ _Hah_! _Ahh – J-Julian_! _Nngh_!” You can hardly recognize your own voice, pitched cries ringing throughout the room as you writhe under his talented tongue. Ideally, you'd want to sit up, to see him, to watch as his eyes slide shut, the bliss clear on his face as he pleasures you. But as it is, you can't control the shaking and jerking of your limbs, nor can you spare the capacity to try. All of your focus is on taking in deep lungfuls of breath and the sweet slide of his tongue against you.

Already, you can feel your orgasm creeping up on you. Not surprising, with how fervently Julian is working you. You've long since lost the ability control your moans and breathless praises (as if you'd ever been in control of them at all), and your lover seems to use those sounds as encouragement, sensing your end coming and somehow managing to put even more energy into eating you out than before.

It's a good thing, you think, that this wing of the palace has been made off limits to the citizens for the Masquerade, because when Julian wraps his lips around your clit and sucks, your scream would likely have brought guards and onlookers alike running, thinking someone was being murdered... again.

It doesn't take too much longer to reach your peak, not with Julian's hands clutching your hips, guiding you to grind against his outstretched tongue with abandon. You're trembling as you come down, legs twitching where they're still slung over his shoulders. Dimly, you register the soft, feather-light kisses he leaves on your folds, trailing his lips upward; skimming over your body, stopping briefly to nuzzle your breasts, and coming to a stop inches from your lips.

“Everything alright, darling?” He says, an extremely self-satisfied grin stretched across his face. “Still seeing stars?”

You don't bother with a retort, bringing your hand up to cup the back of his neck and pull him down to meet your lips, kissing him deeply. He groans, practically melting into your embrace as you taste yourself in his mouth. The feeling of his cock, hard and hot and pulsing where it lays against your hip, sends a tingling sensation through you, starting at your core and spreading out to every other part. You can't help the urge to roll your body against him, the friction of his hard length rubbing against you making you shudder and whine.

“Julian,” You break the kiss, a string of saliva connecting your lips to his. He's panting again, eyes half-lidded and face flushed as he stares at you lustfully. “Julian, please. I need you. Inside me.”

Julian makes a sound in the back of his throat, swallowing hard before speaking. “N-not... not yet. I want to – _ah_ – draw it out... make you f-feel good...” You're still rocking against him, and he grits his teeth through the pleasure, grunting the words out.

“You can still can, but, _mn_ , later... right now – please, I need you to fuck me,” He squeezes his eyes shut, but you will not be denied. “ _Please,_ Ilya!”

You know how it affects him when you call him by his birth name, and it isn't long before you get exactly what you wanted. He freezes, just briefly, before a flurry of motion sends his still damp robe sailing to the floor.

“Again,” He begs, hands behind your knees and spreading them further apart as he makes room for himself, lining his flushed length up to your entrance. “My name – say it again-”

“Ilya, yes, now, Ilya _please_ -”

There's a strangled sound that comes from his as he snaps his hips forward, burying himself inside you in one motion. You gasp, arching into him, the feeling of fullness satisfying something deep inside of you. But he only stills for a moment before he starts moving again, pulling back until only the head remains inside of you and pushing back in with force, cursing.

The pace he sets is brutal, the hands that grip your legs lift them as far as they can go, keeping you as spread as possible as he focuses all his energy on fucking you. The smacking sounds of your bodies meeting is accompanied by your combined moans, occasionally interrupted by him asking you through clenched teeth: “Again.”

With the pleasure rolling over you in waves, you can't even think of denying him. “ _I-Ilya_! _Ah_!”

When your orgasm crests, he cries out along with you as you clamp down around him, leaning forward to bury his forehead in the crook of your neck. Your entire body tenses so hard you start trembling, toes curling and back arching as you try to endure the blissful onslaught.

You're not given a chance to recover – your muscles have barely begun to relax when Julian groans pitifully and starts moving again. His arms wrap around you, holding you flush against him as he starts up a rhythm. The sensitivity of your recent peak causes you to writhe against him, wanting to pull away and press closer simultaneously. “ _Ah_ , Ju-Ilya – wait..”

“I'm sorry my – _ah, ngh fuck_ – my love,” He grunts, raising his head from your shoulder to look at you. “It's s-selfish of me, I know, but I want – want to feel you come again...” Your body jolts as he wedges a hand between you, fingers finding your clit and rubbing quick, tight circles. “Can you do that? Can you – _ahh_ – can you come for me?”

He dips down to kiss you before you can provide an answer, not that you would have been able to anyway. The tidal wave of pleasure washing over you steals your voice, all your attention on riding the wave to your next high. The overstimulation will probably leave you feeling sore and tender for a while but for now, the heightened sensations are leading you right to that orgasm he wants from you. And he's so good, has _always_ been so good with his hands – he knows exactly how to work his fingers to have you tightening around him again, crying out his name over and over so loudly you're certain that everyone in the palace can hear you.

“Yes, _yes_ , there it is – _fuck_ ,” He says, more breath than words, his thrusts becoming frantic. “Please, _please come for me..._ ”

And you do; hard enough that your vision goes white, your mouth open in a silent scream. For a long moment you forget how to breathe, forget to blink, unable to do anything but be assaulted by ecstasy. Vaguely, you register Julian announcing his own orgasm with a shout, driving himself into you a few more times before thrusting as deep as he can and going still. The warmth of his cum filling you seems to kickstart your brain, your vision clearing and breath suddenly coming out in gasps.

Julian collapses at the same moment that you start to relax your limbs, a pleasant ache already going through you. He isn't heavy – at least not any more than you expected, his weight on top of you soothing in the afterglow. After a minute of trying to catch his breath, he turns his head and starts planting soft kisses to your neck.

“Thank you, Julian,” You murmur quietly, not wanting to disturb the air of contentment around you. “That was wonderful.”

He hums against your skin, his response muffled slightly. “Of course, darling. It was... my _pleasure_.”

There's no doubt that if you could see his face, he'd be waggling his eyebrows right now. The thought makes you laugh just as much as the terrible joke. Julian laughs with you, nuzzling your throat and sighing contentedly. “I must admit, that will be difficult to follow up. Luckily, I have a few ideas.”

“No rush. We've got all night, remember?” You turn your head to place a kiss to his ear. “All night, and the rest of our lives.”

His breath catches in his throat at that, and when he lifts his head up to look at you, his eyes are bright and shining, face full of unreserved happiness. “Yes. And the rest of our lives.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> i love making friends! Come talk to me on tumblr @kanookied!


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